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BYMARKHANSON
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M
ore than 60 years after its recording, “Diddie Wa Diddie” is set in a 12-bar blues
Blind Blake’s rambunctious “Diddie framework, but Blake takes liberties with the
Wa Diddie”-a double-entendre rag- expected chord structure. For example, in mea-
time-blues-still stands as a finger- sure 14 he only hints at the IV chord. He then
picking classic. Blake’s musical vocabulary is uses a chromatically descending inner voice to
prodigious, and his improvisational flair has move again to the V (G~J. In the third instru-
seldom been matched. Each of the tune’s stan- mental break, he substitutes F#dim7for the sec-
zas features a distinctively different accompa- ond measure of F(bar 701, and introduces the cir-
niment, and each of the three instrumental cle of fifths in measures 71 through 75.
breaks is a minor masterpiece in itself. Blake’s right-hand thumb plays an active role

OUSTIC / HOW TO PLAY GUITAR 45

BMOBLAKE’S
CLASSIC
in the rollicking syncopations of “Diddie Wa
Diddie.” Often, he picks the root of a new
chord an eighth-note before the next down-
beat. This happens for the first time at the
end of measure 2, where Blake brushes the C
chord with his thumb on the fourth beat, and
attacks the sixth-string Fon the last eighth-note,
anticipating the following downbeat.
The end of measure 22 provides another
good example of Blake’s thumb action. The
fourth beat consists of a brushed strum followed
by an anticipated root (0. Blake continues pick-
ing with his thumb right into measure 23,
playing the first-beat C bass note. The sec-
ond note of the measure could also be played
with the thumb.
If you get a chance to listen to “Diddie Wa
Diddie,” pay close attention to Blake’s use of
sustain and staccato. Also, his sense of rhythm
is outstanding, although he rushes the tempo,
which is more apparent after a second close
listening.
Transcribed here are the instrumental
introduction, the first stanza (vocal accom-
paniment), and the three instrumental breaks.
The coda, which occurs after the sixth stanza,
follows measure 14.
The tune and some insightful liner notes
on Blake’s diverse picking abilities can be
found on Blind Blake, Ragtime Guitar’s Fore-
most Fingerpicker (Yazoo). Recent notable
recordings of “Diddie Wa Diddie” were done
by Ry Cooder and Leon Redbone. n

C G/B C

G C F C G G7

I wish some - bo-dy would tell me what

46 HOW TO PLAY GUITAR / ACOUSTIC

I
 C F C
Instrumental1

I I I I- -- 1 I 1 I I

C G C F C

C F C G
to stanza 4

I ACOUSTIC / HOW TO PLAY GUITAR 47

BLIND
IlllIKE’S
CLASSIC
C G7 C G
C C
C G7 C G7
uring the mid-1920s the unexpectedly high sales of Blind Lemon
D
Jefferson 78s sent the Paramount label scrambling to sign blues artists.
In the fall of 1926, they recorded Arthur “Blind” Blake, a swinging,
sophisticated ragtime guitarist whose warm, relaxed voice was a
far cry from harsh country blues. Paramount’s newspaper ads boasted
of Blind Blake’s “famous piano-sounding guitar.” He recorded “Diddie
Wa Diddie” in Richmond, Indiana, on August 17,1929, the same day he
cut “Too Tight Blues” and “Police Dog Blues.”
Not much is known of Blind Blake, and only a single photograph
of him survives. He was a traveling man; his sponsors claimed that he
hailed from Jacksonville, Florida. He worked south Georgia and the
East Coast, and spent at least part of the 1920s living in a Chicago ten-
ement. Steve Calt and Woody Mann point out in Yazoo’s Blind Blake
album liner notes that “No matter where Blake was from, he ranks as
a musical curiosity His records betray no basic musical orientation,
and it’s anyone’s guess as to whether blues, guitar instrumentals, or
48 HOW TO PLAY GUITAR / ACOUSTIC
I
C G7 C
C
C to Stanza 5
even pop ditties were his original specialty. How he actually made his
livelihood as a performer is another enigma. While most blind guitarists
were soloists who used the helter-skelter phrasing of the street dancer,
Blake’s blues phrasing had the strictness of a dance or band musician.
It is likely that ensemble playing (perhaps with a jazz band) had a real
impact on his music.”
Although he made most of his 78s as a solo artist, Blind Blake some-
times featured sidemen such as Gus “Banjo Joe” Cannon, pianist Althea
Dickerson, clarinetist Johnny Dodds, and a kazoo player-possibly
Dad Nelson. He cut duos with Papa Charlie Jackson, and did some of
his finest work as a sideman with singers such as Leola B. Wilson,
Irene Scruggs, and Bertha Henderson. After his final Paramount session
in 1932, Blind Blake dropped out of sight and died in obscurity. For a
while, though, his records sold almost as well as Blind Lemon’s, and he
had a tremendous impact, setting the standard for ragtime-influenced
blues fingerpicking. ---/as Obrecht
 C c7 F F#dim7 C G/B A
instrumental 3

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